Traditionally, stampable material, for example soap, is stamped from extruded billets of material in order to produce units (for example soap bars) of an attractive and uniform appearance. Such stamping may be achieved using a pair of opposing die members which are physically brought together in a compaction step to stamp the units.
Typically, die cavities are spaced reasonably close together (relative to the spacing of the bucket compartments of a conveyor belt for transportation of the units to a packing means) to maximise the space offered by each die. The stamped units must therefore be spaced apart by a capable means so that the units can be easily transferred to the buckets on the conveyor belt.
One such separating means is known in the art, wherein a spacing device comprises a plate on which several carriages may slide in one direction. The carriages are coupled to one another, in a manner similar to the coupling of railway carriages. When an end carriage is driven forward in one direction, it travels a certain distance before the coupling to the next carriage becomes effective, at which point the coupling transmits driving force to the adjacent carriage which itself begins to move. As each successive coupling transmits the driving force to successive carriages, so the train of carriages extends its length, the spacing between carriages increasing due to the extension of the individual coupling units.
A significant problem faced with such any increase in the number of cavities per die (i.e. to increase production output), is that the length of the conventional spacing device required to allow adequate spacing of units becomes too large for stamping machines designed to conform with the industry's dimensional standards. To simply increase the size of the stamping machines is not economically acceptable since factory space is typically at a premium.
Thus, a spacing device which simply spaces the train of carriages by pulling or pushing an end carriage is not effective for spacing the carriages within a relatively narrow space.
Other problems encountered, if the spacing device is increased, include the decreased mechanical efficiency of such a long spacing mechanism and the fact that a longer beam is necessarily heavier and thus more difficult to support without using extra, valuable space within the machine.
Italian manufacturers Binnachi have disclosed a spacing device for spreading soap bars during transfer from a stamping means to a packaging line, the device comprising a train of carriages, each carriage being mounted for movement along an axis and adapted to receive a unit of stamped material, the carriages being coupled together to allow spacing therebetween/upon movement of one or both of the carriages, and a pair of driving means for pulling a first and last carriage in opposite directions to effect the spacing of the carriages therebetween. While such a system is effective at spacing the carriages in a relatively narrow space, the provision of a driving means at each end of the train of carriages in itself takes up quite a lot of space. In addition, the provision of a separate driving means complicates the mechanics of operation, increases the energy load of the machine and, like any other part of the machine, is prone to wear and tear.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome at least some of the above problems and provide a spacing device which is efficient, reliable and does not take up much space.